BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Physical exercise is good for your health, but it's not easy to stick to. Researchers have found that not wanting to be physically active is actually an evolved instinct in humans. If you want to keep exercising, you still need to find a way to overcome this "inertia" of the brain.
People run on the streets of San Mateo, a small city in northern California, U.S., March 23, 2021. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wu Xiaoling.
According to a recent article published by Time Magazine in the United States, exercise has benefits such as promoting sleep and mental health, reducing the risk of chronic diseases and premature death, but many people do not exercise enough. Why is it so hard to do something that is so rewarding and not difficult to carry out? Researchers have found that in addition to factors such as physical condition that does not allow it, modern lifestyles, etc., there is another obstacle: our brains do not want us to exercise.
For most of human existence, people have had to rely on physical activities such as finding food or growing crops. Human evolutionary biologist Daniel Lieberman explains that humans evolved to tolerate high-intensity activity, but also tend to take breaks when possible, such as hunter-gatherers not going out for jogging to burn off excess energy.
Nowadays, people don't have much activity in their daily lives, but the evolutionary instinct to conserve energy is still there, so not wanting physical activity is "completely normal and natural," Lieberman said.
Matthieu Boisuntier, an associate professor at the University of Ottawa in Canada, who studies physical activity, said that the instinct that people tend to take escalators rather than stairs is not bad, but that modern life has given people so many opportunities to succumb to their preference for rest that "it has reached an extreme that is no longer good for health."
People take an elevator at a shopping mall in San Mateo, northern California, U.S., May 19, 2021. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wu Xiaoling.
How to overcome this "inertia" of the brain? Expert advice starts with building confidence. Studies have shown that people who consider themselves athletic are more likely to exercise regularly, so start with easy things to do, such as walking for just a few minutes a day and gradually increasing the amount.
It would also help to redefine what counts as exercise. It's not just about going to the gym to work out, even if spending a few minutes a day doing chores can be good for your body and mind, it's important to be active and find a way that works for you.
Experts also suggest that you can combine exercise with other things to kill two birds with one stone. For example, if you ask a friend to ride a bicycle together, you can exercise and socialize at the same time. Combining exercise with what you want or need to do can make it easier to ignore the thoughts in your brain that make you lie on the couch.